Behind the Forest
by Anis5240
Summary: (Basically this is 1 of my AUs.) Set in 2038, young Howard Weinerman wondered what was inside the forest nearby his town, Flackville. When he broke the No. 1 Rule, he found something unexpected behind the woods... (Inspired by Disney's Fantasia 2000 - Firebird Suite)
1. Prologue

Norrisville, 2013.

People were walking out of their homes with such hurry, bringing along their belongings and loaded them into their vehicles, sometimes glancing worriedly at the sky, which was strangely red-greenish in colour. Howls of sirens made by the Robo-Apes were blaring everywhere, making the whole situation even chaotic.

'Everyone must leave this town as soon as possible,' they repeated over and over again in their robotic voices. The town's residents started quickening their steps but a bright flash of green light accompanied with a loud boom suddenly entered the air, causing all of them to stop dead in their tracks, their eyes were full of terror.

'You heard the sound; move on!' the bots continued after a while and everyone was back to their business.

In downtown Norrisville, ruins of collapsed buildings filled the scene and a black figure with a red scarf tied at his neck dodged the deadly green ray that was aimed for him with his long sword before hiding in one of the buildings that were still stood upright. He panted heavily and slid down against the wall, his sapphire blue eyes met a chubby kid with orange hair's, who was giving him an anxious look. 'How's out there?' he started.

'Not good,' spoke the well-known Norrisville Ninja (a.k.a Randy Cunningham) to him, shaking his head. 'He's stronger than I thought.' 'No cheese, Cunningham! That's wonk!' said Howard Weinerman, moaning.

'Is everyone out yet?' asked Randy. 'Are you KIDDING ME?! McFist already got his bots to speed up the whole thing! Well, he doesn't know we're still here, though,' explained the ginger.

'We have to find a way to defeat him!' said the masked one with a sigh. An unknown shoob had set loose of his arch-enemy, the 800-years-old Sorcerer from his prison and he was DEFINITELY **NOT** THAT SHOOB. 'How about using that Eye again?' suggested Howard.

'No, we can't, that Stone was too damaged,' replied Randy faintly. It was true, the golden stone that once locked the Sorcerer from escaping his prison was totally destroyed by the anonymous. However, the bird spirit inside it, the evil Tengu was still intact; Randy didn't have time to think how could that happened.

'Then get the Nomicon!' Howard shouted. 'It MUST KNOW SOMETHING!'

'I thought you always said Nomicon's such a jerk,' said Randy with a chuckle, putting his sword aside and began searching for the black-and-red Ninja-Nomicon inside his Ninja suit.

Howard snorted and voiced, 'It is. And it will ALWAYS be.' 'Books give us knowledge, Howard,' the masked one replied and pulled out the book from his suit. Seeing it, the orange-haired rolled his eyes when a roar suddenly broke into the scene, causing both of them to cover their ears.

'You cannot hide from me forever, Ninja!' a deep, croaked voice boomed around the building. 'I've been WAITING for this for 800 years! Now is the time for ME TO RULE THE WORLD!'

'Wonk,' muttered Randy behind his mask. 'Come out of your hiding place, Norisu! A ninja is not a coward!' the Sorcerer kept taunting.

Howard looked at his biffer and shook his head signing to him to not hearing the old wizard's words. The Ninja nodded and opened the Ninja-Nomicon, which immediately glowed in bright red and the usual 'oof' made by him and his slumped body marked the 'Nomicon-o'-clock', where his soul is sucked into the magical book for a while. (At least that was what Howard thought.) Howard folded his arms and whistled absent-mindedly, sometimes glancing at his McFist Watch, waiting for Randy to wake up again and kick the Sorcerer's butt back into his prison once and for all.

(line break)

Randy was back into reality with a loud gasp, startling Howard. 'So, uh, what does the Nomicon say?' the chubby one asked.

The former looked at him and silently gulped; he didn't want to do it. But he have to. For Howard's sake.

'Howard, you have to leave,' said Randy.

'WHAT?!' Howard replied in return. 'No! I'm not going without YOU! **NOT** WITHOUT MY BEST FRIEND!' 'Howard, please – ' 'No!'

'Howard, listen to me.' Randy went towards his bro and grabbed his shirt and stared into his brown eyes. Howard blinked furiously at him; he didn't know what the stupid Nomicon had told the blue-eyed but he _did_ know it was something not good.

'Take this.' The Ninja thrusted the Ninja-Nomicon into the ginger's dainty hands. 'W-what does this mean?' the kid in blue asked, confused.

'Go. Leave this place. Go to your parents, Howard. And Heidi; she must be HONKIN' worried about you,' the scarfed one said.

'What about you?' Howard said a bit shrilly, trying to protest. 'Don't worry about me; I will follow suit. Take this. Run, Howard. And don't look back.'

'But – ' 'You hear me, Big H.'

Howard choked a bit; since when Cunningham became all serious?

'If...if you didn't come, I – I'm gonna punch you in the face when we meet again!' Of all the things he thought to stall the Ninja from kept pledging him to leave, that sentence blurted out of his mouth.

'Yes Howard, I will _let_ you punch my face when we meet again,' Randy assured with a nod. 'You can do as much as you want.' His eyes narrowed slightly; Howard could tell he was trying to stop himself from breaking into tears.

The ginger hold his biffer's hands for the last time and they held each other's gaze before he slowly taking steps backwards, leaving the Ninja. Leaving his childhood friend alone in the wrecked city.

'Don't forget that promise, Cunningham! Don't you dare!' shouted Howard as he spun around and started running out of the building with tears filled the corner of his eyes and he hugged the Ninja-Nomicon as tight as he could.

'I won't, Howard,' whispered Randy, watching his best mate gradually turned into a tiny dot ahead him. 'I won't...'


	2. 25 Years Later

Flackville, 2038.

The Sun had just rise from the east horizon and spread its bright rays into the town, causing everyone to wake up lazily from their comfy beds and went to prepare for the day. Inside a two-storey, red-roofed beige house, the family who lived inside were pretty much excited.

'Howie! Get up now! It's the day!' a deep, hearty voice boomed so loud inside the house that it almost shook as if having an earthquake. Only silence answered his call. The person sighed before he went to the stairs and started climbing the steps until he reached the second floor and knocked a room's door that could easily mistaken as hidden since the door and the upstairs' wall were having the same colour.

'Howard?' He knocked the door again. Still, there was no answer. 'HOWARD!' he shouted in his thunderous voice.

Immediately, the brown door swung open and revealing its inside; a standard teenager's room with trashes were on the floor. A stout boy with ruffled orange hair was in front of him now, stifling a yawn and the kid spoke sleepily, 'Dad, I'm already awake. You don't have to shake the whole house to get me up from bed!'

'That's my boy!' the person said and he entered his son's room. The kid however, took his towel and a pair of fresh clothes and went out, wanting to take a bath.

The former took a glance all over the rather large room. A blue two-seated sofa was at the corner behind the door, and a round wooden table was at the middle, having some books and a blue jacket on it. There was a television set at the left side of the light grey-walled room, a bunk bed at his right, two short bookshelves near the only window inside it with a digital clock on one of them, a computer below the bed and some posters were hanging on each wall, covering at least a quarter of the wall. Two brown suitcases were beside the table, slightly bulky. A pair of purple shoes was beside the suitcases, lying still.

He let out a deep, slightly miserable sigh at the sight of his son's room. It reminds him of someone, someone he was really close with...

A stump behind him made the person to wake up from his trance and he spun around in alarm, only to see the chubby boy had finished his bath, wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with a blue squid printed on it and a pair of long beige trousers and having his red towel hanging around his almost unseen neck. 'Dad?' he said, ruffling his wet hair with his towel.

'Get hurry, How,' he replied and took the two suitcases and headed towards the door. 'Your mom's gonna mad at any second from now.' The moment the last word escaped his mouth, a shrill voice shook the whole house again.

'DEAREST TWO HOWARDS UP THERE, GET DOWN HERE AT ONCE!' the voice spoke. 'Told you,' the person mumbled to the boy, who was next to him at the brown door before he went downstairs awkwardly with the suitcases. Howard only rolled his eyes before he re-entered his room, hanging his towel, wearing his shoes and checked if there was anything else he'd forgot to pack.

He picked up all the rubbish that was littering on the wooden floor and put them in the dustbin, closing his opened blue cupboard and went towards the window and looked outside.

His neighbours were in their lawns, dragging their young children who were bawling at top of their voices out of their house, their cars' boots were open, having a few bags inside as well. He could see some of the parents coaxed them with sweets and lollipops, while their elder siblings snickered.

Howard sighed and lifted his gaze to the east horizon of his town, Flackville. There was a large green area, with trees growing as tall as they could, which he didn't see around Flackville. There wasn't a small plant in a small flower pot at every corner of the town. Not even in his house. Or in everyone else's lawns. He had walked over the whole town to find one single green leaf of a plant, but no. Flackville was literally dying of oxygen.

He once wondered why he can't plant a willow seed he'd found at the backyard when he was a young child (he had found out about the "no plant in Flackville" fact) and asked his parents about it. _"Did you see that Forest, How?"_ his dad said and pointed towards the trees. Howard followed his finger and he nodded. _"As long as the Forest remains there, we're OK. No need to be afraid of not getting oxygen. You got it, How?"_

" _But what about this seed?"_ Howard showed them the willow seed, in hopes of his parents will let him to plant it. " _We'll keep it in our house, in our science room,"_ his mom replied. _"After all, there is no soil left in here, Howard. Only the Forest has it."_ Since then, Howard had been hating the Forest. The annual camp to the campsite near the jungle during the second half of the Spring season only made his anger rose even more. However, it was his final year this time, and he won't set foot at the place anymore.

He felt sad about it since he had spent at least 7 Springs in the camp along with some of his schoolmates, happily doing activities given by the caretakers of the Forest, Bucky Hensletter and the woman who his parents called her "Flute Girl". The Forest was part of him now, and even though they were literally beside the Forest at the camp, they cannot enter it, which frustrated him the second he knew the rule.

The one and only rule of Flackville that was highly restricted was: **DO NOT GO INTO THE FOREST.**

" _It was forbidden,"_ his mother said when he questioned about it after his first camp. _"No one has ever entered it. It was against the law." "How long has it been?"_ he asked. She paused for a long while before answering with a deep sigh, _"Almost 25 years."_

Once broken, one will get the unimaginable torture made by the mayor of Flackville himself:

Howard Weinerman. Yep, he was the man of town, and he was also the one who lifted his suitcases just now.

'HOWARD!' His mom's shout snapped Howard out of his thoughts and he hurriedly went out of his room, grabbing his light blue jacket on the round table and hastily wore it, almost skidding at the landing and went downstairs as fast as his pudgy legs could bring him.

He entered the kitchen, panting in every step and two people there were beaming at his sight. His dad, the spectacled Howard Weinerman Sr (since he was literally named after his dad and everything about the older man was also part of him that some kids at school called him "Father's son") was munching toasts while reading the daily newspaper delivered to their house. His mom, the purple-haired Theresa was having her hands at her hips, holding a ladle in one of them.

'All good, Howard?' Theresa asked and the young Howard pulled out a toothy grin. Despite the fact his mom can be a snappy housewife, she is very loving to her family.

'Nah, he's fine, Ress,' said her husband and gestured to his son to sit beside him. Howard only obeyed and took a toast before having a bite of it. His mom poured a cup of warm tea and handed it to him, in which he took it gladly and placed it on the table, which was full of breakfast meals. There was a plate of pancakes, some muffins and a box of cereals with a jug of milk.

'Have as much as you can, How. Still got some time,' said the older Howard and took his mug of coffee. He glanced at his old McFist Watch around his wrist and choked a bit.

'Dad?' said Howard in worry, seeing his father started coughing really bad. 'Finish your toast, Howie. We're already late.' said the older Howard, who then got up from his seat and walked out of the kitchen, pulling out a set of keys from his white jacket's pocket and went towards his car outside.

'Take care, Howard,' said Theresa and planted a kiss onto her son's forehead. Howard nodded and grabbed two muffins and followed his father.

'Ready for your last camp, How?' asked the spectacled man, arranging his boy's suitcases in the brilliant red car's boot. 'Yeah,' Howard mumbled half-heartedly and took a last look at the beige house.

The mayor of Flackville closed the boot and faced the orange-haired with a wide smile.

'Let's hit the road, shall we?'


	3. The Journey

Howard only stared outside from the opened car window in boredom with arms folded while his father drove the family car on the lanes and highways of Flackville, humming a tune as they headed to the Flackville Camp, the place he had spent almost half of his 14 years of living. His brown eyes swayed back and forth as they fell onto the sights of buildings and homes and malls and anything made of concrete.

He yawned, feeling even worse than when he left the Weinermans' residence moments ago. There was nothing interesting to be seen, except things built from stones and cement. He turned his head to his right, seeing the green foliage of the Forest shone as the Sun bathing their leaves with its warm light.

'Dad,' he broke the silence that had been occurring in the car since they began their journey. 'Yeah, How?' the older Howard replied, eyes fixed forwards. 'Can you just tell me why you didn't let anyone to enter the Forest?'

The spectacled man swiftly eyed him like a hawk in such sudden that the young boy almost got a heart attack.

'What makes you to say that, Howard?' said his dad rather sternly, frowning. 'No, I-I just ask...I mean, is there something behind the Forest?' Howard asked.

'There is nothing to see if you go inside, Howie. It's just a land full of trees, giving us the air of life,' replied the father, pulling the brake as they approached the traffic light. The main highway of the town was packed with cars in every corner, mainly because it was the start of the second half of Spring, where every kid aged from seven to fourteen have to attend the camp near the Forest. 'If it was just a land of trees, why _didn't_ you let people to explore what was inside?'

'You know what will happen on each Season, Howie,' said the mayor with a defeated sigh and Howard stopped. He knew what happened on every Season throughout the year.

 **Winter** : the snow was too dense that people are forced to stay inside.

 **Spring** : the time when trees inside the Forest started to bloom as if they have been put a spell that made them grow as tall as they can; if Summer and Autumn do not come.

 **Summer** and **Autumn** : the Forest is burned. Burned into crisps that nothing left was standing when Winter comes. Not even a small twig.

'But now is the time to enter the Forest!' Howard argued, falling back into reality when the traffic light turned to green and his dad started driving the car again, causing him to lurch backwards a bit.

'You seem to be very interested with the Forest; did it really get to your nerves?' asked the older Howard. 'YES!' the stout boy said vehemently.

'Listen up, How,' the man lowered his voice into a whisper that Howard have to beckon sideways so that he could hear what he was saying, 'we have sent a robot in there, to see what was inside. Not just one, but tons of them. We've been sending the bots since you weren't born yet.'

'Er...OK. What happened to them?' Howard felt a rush of excitement flowing inside his body; he was eager to know more. 'They were destroyed.'

'WHAT?' the teen bellowed in shock. 'Yes, Howard, they were pumped into fists by whatever was inside the Forest,' answered the mayor of Flackville in a bored monotonous voice, his eyes trailed onto a flashy black car that hovered in front of them.

'It can't be...You must get some pictures when it went inside, right Dad?' the younger Howard went on demanding his father to tell more about the Forest's mystery. 'No.' 'WWWHHHHHHAAAATTTT?'

'Not even a blurry picture was captured. The moment it disappeared from our sight and we checked the computer for any signs, it went down.' told the senior Weinerman, slurping his cup of coffee from the cup-stand. 'All of them?' 'Yep.'

The kid in the blue jacket felt disappointed that he hunched in defeat when he heard his father's words, but he was also curious. _What was inside the Forest, really?_

'Let's stop here for a while,' said the spectacled Howard, turning the steering wheel over and they gradually came to a stop at the roadside before he pulled the brake once again.

'Wait, Dad, this isn't – ' Howard began to say when he looked around and...

'HOWIE!' a voice spoke from his window and before the boy knew it, two pair of hands were hugging him from outside, causing him to choke a bit and his father chuckled at the sight of his son being adored and cooed by his parents, Mort and Martha ***** Weinerman.

Even though Howard and Heidi had invited them to live at his house (yes, she was staying at _Howard's_ house), they refused and they told the family they wanted to spend their moments at their own house near Flackville's main lane till the end.

'Going to the Camp today, hmm, my little grandson?' asked Mort as he released his hug from the boy and ruffled his hair, who was still the same except having white hair and a small goatee. His wife, now beaming at the passengers in the red car was slightly plumper than when she was younger and had the usual "kind grandmother" look.

'Yeah,' replied the mayor, stretching himself on the comfy driver's seat. 'It's his last year.' He glanced at his McFist Watch and rested his arms onto his head.

'You won't dare to forget the Forest, right, Howard dear?' said Martha. The teen only nodded. 'Nah, he won't. It's the place where he should be,' replied Mort with a bark of laughter and stopped when he noticed both Martha and his son gave him a glare.

'Guess we have to go now,' said the man in the car. 'Say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, How.' 'Bye,' the younger Howard whispered and waved his hands as his father revved the engine and the red car was back onto the road, watching his grandparents gradually turned into two small dots behind them.

After a few minutes driving, with a sharp turn, the senior Weinerman drove his car into a junction with a signboard. Soon, the car stopped and they stepped out of the vehicle with Howard's face lit up as he saw the emblem in front of them, saying:

 **WELCOME TO THE FLACKVILLE CAMP (a.k.a the Forest)**.

* * *

 *** - I once asked about whether Howard's mom's name was "Martha" to some of RC9GN writers, and one of them, Russ McGarry said it was a nice guess, so...I'm just gonna stick to that name.**


	4. The Flackville Camp

Howard had his mouth opened and wandered aimlessly like he always did whenever he came to the Camp, looking around in wonder at the sights of parents sending their children to the campsite and the lovely tall trees that grew in the forbidden Forest (which sucks since people cannot go in there). He took a long deep breath and exhaled; he was pretty much pumped, he couldn't wait for the event to start.

'Howie! Don't be too excited; take your bags first!' His father's call snapped him out of his thoughts and he went back to the red car, helping the Flackville mayor to pull out his suitcases out of the boot and put them on the greenish ground.

'That will do,' said the spectacled man, closing his car's boot and folded his arms. 'You OK, How?' 'Yeah,' mumbled Howard. 'Can we go now?' 'Sure.'

The father and the son both took one of the suitcases and walked towards the counter where kids have to register themselves along with their parents. As they reached at the end of the honkin' _long_ queue and joined the crowd, Howard glanced over the Camp's entrance, which had two large golden statues; a ninja and a kid, both had downcast "eyes" as if they were watching every person who entered the Camp.

Howard remembered what people in his neighbourhood had told him about the duo and the Forest itself. They said the Forest was originally their hometown (that is, Norrisville) and when something tragic happened (they didn't tell him what was the incident, even when he begged them to), the town was destroyed to bits (which they called it "the Blast"), forcing them to leave. After they cleared off their hometown for about a year, a seedling sprouted from the ground.

They were astonished when they first found it, and Hannibal McFist (the old philanthropist of Norrisville, he was dead about 10 years after the Blast) decided to keep the sprout at its place. Soon, more plants began to grow on the deserted land, and the Forest came to life.

His aunt, Heidi Weinerman said they were honkin' thankful to the Norrisville Ninja, who was believed to be killed in the Blast and he knew she was saying the truth; there was a large gold statue built in honour of him at the entrance of the Flackville Camp, along with a teenage boy which he was staring right now. She said he was also killed, named "Sandy" Cunningham but his dad corrected her and told him it was "Randy".

Howard knew nothing of the kid until he accidentally saw a picture of him poking out of his father's journal when he entered the latter's den one day. The kid was his dad's _best friend_.

Howard lifted his gaze from the statues to his dad, who apparently had his eyes onto them too and heaved a sad sigh. He lowered his head, feeling unhappy with his dad's bro's death. Then, he spoke, 'I...I'm sorry.'

'Sorry?' the senior Weinerman asked out of the blue, pretty much surprised with his son's words. 'What for?'

'About...your friend,' the boy murmured and the man smiled. He ruffled his hair and said, 'Thank you, Howie. That means a lot.'

'Well, well, well! Look who's here? It's the mayor himself; Howard Weinerman!' a joyful voice spoke out of sudden behind them and both the father and the son spun around as well as the others, seeing an orange-haired woman with a microphone in her hand in a black suit and skirt was heading towards the line along with two people, one was holding a large camcorder while the other was having a pen and a notebook, smiling.

'And look who's here?' the older Howard replied in a sassy tone, sending some kids muffling their laughter. 'It's the famous Flackville newsgirl herself ; Heidi Weinerman!'

The woman pulled a grimace as she reached her brother. 'Hello, brat-ther,' she hissed at his ear before she squatted and cooed at the boy beside him, 'And here is his little boy, Howard!'

'Aunt Heidi, I'm no longer a little boy,' said Howard embarrassingly. 'Take a picture of him, Dave!' said Heidi excitedly to the one who held the camcorder and he nodded.

'Hello, Kang,' greeted the mayor of Flackville to the short woman with the pen, reaching out his hand. 'Hi, Howard,' replied Debbie Kang with a short smile and they shook hands. 'I have a question for you, hope you won't mind.'

'Sure, go ahead,' said the dark-haired, folding her arms. Howard bent forwards and whispered something that made her chuckle. 'How can you stand all of her babbles?'

'Seriously Howard, I don't know. I mean, I don't even know _why_ and _how_ I can work with her!' Debbie exclaimed and they then burst into laughter. 'You don't?' 'No!'

'Best thing I've heard for ages,' said the spectacled, wiping his eyes and glanced at his son, who was in his sister's grasp and being recorded by the cameraman, David. 'Stop, Aunt Heidi!' he heard him say.

'Wonder why she wasn't married yet,' he mumbled at Debbie. 'So do I,' the woman agreed before shouted, 'Heidi! We still got people to talk with!'

The reporter unconsciously let go of her nephew and stood up, brushing off the dirt on her skirt. 'Let's keep going then,' she said and began to walk away.

'See ya, Howard,' said Debbie Kang with a wink before she trailed behind Heidi along with Dave. 'Bye,' the man in the white jacket said and called out, 'Don't forget the ceremony!' He caught a glimpse of her nodding before they went to the golden statues, apparently wanted to interview people again.

'So, feeling great?' he asked the stout boy, who was fuming. 'Wish I do,' was the reply and he chuckled. He squatted and grinned at his son, taking the bits of earth on his clothes. 'Don't worry, everything will be fine. You got yourself a friend, right?'

'He's not my friend. We're just acquaintances,' said the younger Howard. 'Don't lie to me, How. I know you did have.'

'"How"?' a squeaky voice entered the air, making the boy jumped. 'Really? Is that what your dad called you?'

'Dad! Why did you call me that in public?' Howard shouted in embarrassment, red in the face and the father startled. 'Eh? Can't I?' he said in surprise and looked behind his son. 'Hello there!' he called cheerfully and Howard turned around once again, seeing the one and only...


	5. Dennis Matson

Dennis Matson.

The spectacled, lanky, typical bookworm with freckles and having rather spiky dark brown hair in a waist-tight brilliant red jacket and a pair of blue jeans who always got all eyes onto him for being a nerdy _nerd_.

Is his so-called _friend_.

'Hey, Matson!' greeted the older Howard as he stood up and went to meet the boy with cobalt blue eyes. Howard gave him a sour look before looking away, not wanting to see his acquaintance. If only _he_ hadn't done the deed...

They first met when they were seven, in the Camp of course. Being the first kid from Flackville who joined it that time (the Camp was originally only for kids whose parents/guardians were previously Norrisvillians but Mayor Weinerman decided it's best for the Flackville kids to attend as well), Dennis Matson quickly gained all eyes' attention, including the Camp's caretakers, Bucky Hensletter and the "Flute Girl". And sure enough, the bullies as well.

Howard accidentally saw them corner the Matson when he was about to go to the loo, and he drove them away, pretty much helping the kid. Turned out it was the biggest mistake he had ever done: he called him his _acquaintance_ before he rushed away.

Dennis Matson, Howard Weinerman (Jr.)'s fellow associate (he used the phrase since "acquaintance" sounded too formal for some reasons). Hahahahaha. He always thought it was a bad dream, but no. Since then, he'd been stuck with him, seven years straight. In class, gym, class trip partner, you name it, they've went through together. They even the best duo in Flackville High School's dodgeball team.

'So, how's it going, Matson?' the older Howard asked the nerd and they shook hands. 'No bad, though I have to catch the bus a bit earlier than usual,' Dennis said with a snicker. 'Want some cakes?' He held out a plate with four pieces of chocolate cakes.

'Oh cheese, you know you shouldn't do this,' the mayor replied but he took one anyway. 'Howard, come-here-and-have-a-taste-on-this; it's-good,' he mumbled out with his mouth full. The freckled kid only gave him a toothy grin.

'Thanks, Dad but I'm already full,' Howard called, still not turning around. 'Suit yourself then.' With a shrug, the man took another (which the Matson persuaded him to) and Dennis tapped his shoulder. 'Yeah?' he said, having a few bits on cakes around his mouth.

'You might want to move now, Mr. Weinerman; you're quite left behind.' He pointed at the queue, where there wasn't anyone left to register. 'Sweet cheese,' the man in the white jacket facepalmed, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief he'd kept in his pocket and grabbed one of his son's suitcases before striding as fast as he could. 'Hurry up, How,' he told the stout boy. Surprised, Howard lifted his other bag and followed his dad.

'Do you want me to help you, Howard?' Dennis asked. Apparently he was at his tail as usual. 'No need to, I can manage this by myself,' he retorted and began to quicken his paces. 'But it looks rather heavy.'

'You hear me, Dennis,' Howard said through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed with the red-jacketed and the nerd was stunned for a second. 'Come on Howard, you think I cannot carry this on my own?' he asked again, now standing beside him. 'It wasn't that.' 'Then what?' 'You're bothering me. And your arms don't look too promising to lift this.'

The spectacled kid rolled his eyes when he heard his words. 'My arms being lanky don't make them weak,' he mumbled while looking at his wiry arms. 'Shut up, Dennis,' said Howard and he went quiet. _Always did the trick,_ he thought, smiling to himself. Before they knew it, they had reached the wooden hut (it was made of concrete, Howard had checked it almost ten times on his first Camp) and two people were waiting for them; his father was there already.

'Look who's here,' one of them, a woman with brown hair wearing a white T-shirt with a brown vest and a pair of khaki shorts spoke in a lisp. 'Howard Weinerman, Jr.' She cracked up at the end of her sentence. 'Stop it, Heather ***** , you're making him embarrassed,' said the other, a man in the same attire as the woman.

'Whatever, Bucky Hensletter,' she said and stuck her tongue out. 'So, Buck, Flute Girl, I hope you two can take a good care of my boy here,' the senior Weinerman chimed in and hugged his son.

'Sure enough, Weinerman. We are going to have a great time this year after that fountain incident last year, isn't it, Howard?' Flute Girl murmured with her eyes fixed onto the younger Howard, who grinned nervously in return. 'I hope so,' Bucky joked. 'Don't worry Howard, we will guarantee your kid is safe with us. Or are you still doubting us even though you've sent him here for seven years?' he eyed the spectacled man.

'You shoob,' he replied and pushed him aside playfully. 'I'm just saying.' 'Riiiiight,' said Bucky and they laughed. Flute Girl however, jotted down Howard's name on a pad, still giving him the glare.

'I don't want to hear anything from you, Weinerboy or else you're dead. Agree?' she threatened, in which he nodded before staring up to his "acquaintance". Dennis only raised his eyebrows and trailed his eyes to her as if he was saying "Just follow what she said". He snorted and put up his grumpy face.

'OK boys, we're going to the ceremony, you kids just stay around here, not wandering anywhere. Especially _near_ the Forest,' said the mayor of Flackville and he walked out of the hut accompanied by Bucky and Flute Girl.

'Have you sneaked into the ceremony, Howard?' asked Dennis suddenly that the boy startled, minutes after they left. 'No,' he answered after a while. 'Why did you ask?' 'I just want to know.'

'Probably about the Ninja and the kid,' Howard said and he stepped back onto ground, with the blue-eyed kid joined him seconds later. He gazed at the Forest as they walked and when he looked upwards, he saw something that make his face lit up.

A leaf was sticking out of one of the trees' branches in the Forest, and it was above him.

* * *

 ***** \- that was what I thought Flute Girl's actual name is


End file.
